USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > Boston > Sketches of Boston, past and present, and of some places in its vicinity > Part 20
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PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
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N.U SL.
ENGLISH HIGH SCHOOL, BEDFORD STREET.
Established 1821, Erected 1811, Cost, see Latin.
THOMAS SHERWIN, Master ; LUTHER ROBINSON, Sub-Master.
This school originated in the growing desire for extended means of thorough education, and was one of the latest and best fruits of the com- bined action of the citizens of the "old town " of Boston. Some of the latest " warned town meetings " were in reference to the establishment of this school, and it was finally and heartily commenced in the year 1821, in the second story of the old Derne Street School-House, then newly erected. George Barrell Emerson, now of the School Board, was chosen its first Master, February 19, 1821. It continued in the Derne street house until a building was erected for it in Pinckney street, which it first occupied in February, 1924. The plan of the School has already been de. scribed in our introductory remarks, and it is only necessary to add, that its increased usefulness and popularity are only excelled by the pride our citizens take in it It not only receives its proportion of Franklin Med- als, but in 1846 the Hon. Abbott Lawrence made it a donation of $ 2,000, the interest of which is annually distributed in prizes. A like donation he also made to the Latin School. In 1841 it became necessary to build a new house fur the Latin School, and a plan was projected of having the two schools in one building, and the High School was removed from Pinckney street to its present location.
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HANCOCK SCHOOL.
HANCOCK SCHOOL, RICHMOND PLACE.
Established 1822, Erected 1817, Cost $ 69,603.15.
GEORGE ALLEN, JR., Master ; P. W. BARTLETT, Sub- Master.
This school was first located in Middle street, now Hanover, and was opened in June, 1823, by an address from the Mayor. The old house still stands, and is converted into Primary School-rooms, and a Ward Room. It has, for several years, been a girls' school, and one of the first rank in the city. Its first Masters were Nathaniel K. G. Oliver, and Peter McIntosh, Jr. The latter held office till his death, in 1848, and was a most estimable man, and a universal favorite with his pupils and associ- ates in office. At his decease the school was placed upon the single- headed plan, and Mr. Bartlett, usher in the Brimmer School, was elected Sub-Master in September. The old house was very incommodious, and under the exemplary zeal of James H Barnes, Esq., after several years' effort, the present site was selected. a most elegant building erected, and on the 10th of April, 1813, it was dedicated with appropriate services. It is quite similar in construction to the "Quincy," four stories high, with a large hall in the highest story, that will seat six or seven hundred, and several separate rooms for assistant teachers on the lower floors. The house cost several thousand dollars more than any in the city, and is not surpassed in any respect. Its location is very good, between Prince and Richmond streets. It has 466 pupils, average attendance 399.
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PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
WELLS SCHOOL, MCLEAN STREET. Established 1833, Erected 1833, Cost $ 23,098.87.
C. WALKER, Grammar Master ; R. SWAN, JR., Writing Master.
This school was gathered on account of the crowded state of the neigh boring schools, in December, 1833, under the present Grannar. Master, who was previously Master of the Eliot School, and Benjamin Callender, Writing Master. The latter held office about six months, was succeeded by John Lothrop, who left the school in 1836, and Mr. Swan, formerly of the Harvard School, Charlestown, was elected his successor. It was at first a school for both sexes, and so continued till the organization of the Otis, in 1815, when the boys were transferred to that and the Phillips, and the Wells became a girls' school, and so remains. It was named' for the Hon. Charles Wells, fourth Mayor of the city, in the years 1832 - 33. Dur- ing the year 1850, the house was considerably enlarged, an additional story placed upon the original structure, and the halls furnished with the latest conveniences and aids to teaching. Last returns show 413 pupils, with 364 average attendance. The first medals were given in 1834, but the recipients are not on record. The district for this school embraces the whole of Ward Pive, and within its limits there was, in 1813, no pri vate school kept, except a small one by a female teacher ; and in the same limits there were but fourteen girls who attended any other school.
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JOHNSON SCHOOL.
JOHNSON SCHOOL, TREMONT STREET.
Established 1836, Erected 1835, Cost $ 26,715.14.
R. G. PARKER, Master N. School ; J. HALE, Master S. School. This school, for girls only, was organized in September, 1836, in conse. quence of the increasing wants of the South end. It was at first opened as a "one-headed " school, and Mr. Parker, at that time Master of the May- hew School, was elected Principal. A Writing Master, specially em- ployed, visited this and the Winthrop School, on alternate days, - the Masters teaching all else. This plan continued till 1841, when it was changed. and Mr. Joseph Hale of the Phillips School, Salem, was chosen to the head of the Writing Department. It retained this form until Jan- uary, 1813, when the scholars were separated into two distinct schools, Mr. Parker being Principal of the one, and Mr. Hale of the other, each with female assistants only. The School has a small library, presented by Amos Lawrence, Esq. The name " Arbella " was prefixed at the request of the Hon Samuel T. Armstrong, then Mayor, but it is known simply as the "Johnson " School. This was the third entire girls' school in the city, and the full attendance through the entire year shows how the hab- its of our citizens have changed since 1822, when the School Committee considered whether girls " might not be allowed" to attend school in the winter months ! Medals were first awarded to Misses E. M. Emmons, M. L. Crymble, M. H. Ireland, E. W. Keith, S. L. Stinson, A. C. Cheever.
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PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
WINTHROP SCHOOL, EAST STREET. Established 1836, Erected 1835, Cost $ 23,897. HENRY WILLIAMS, JR., Master.
This school was originally organized like the Johnson, in the latter part of 1835, and the boys took possession of this house in September, 1836, under Franklin Forbes. All branches, except writing, were taught by the master. Mr. F. resigned in December, 1837, and Mr. Williams succeeded him in January, 1813. The school continued under its original organiza- tion till April, 1841, when it was made a mixed school, and Samuel, L. Gould was chosen Writing Master. In 1317 the boys were sent to form the Quincy School, then organizing, and the girls were separated into the North and South Winthrop Schools, which were entirely distinct and in. dependent of each other, and so remained until May; 1851, when Mr. Gould was transferred to the Franklin School, and the North and South Winthrop Schools were consolidated into one, under charge of Mr. Wil- liams. Before this change the house was without many indispensable conveniences. Dr. Thomas M Brewer, Chairman of the School, inter- ested himself in the matter, and after untiring efforts, succeeded in hav- ing the house enlarged and improved after a plan projected by Mr. Wil- liams, dividing the two stories into four separate rooms each. Its interior arrangements are now commodious and superior, as well as the school it- self.
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LYMAN SCHOOL.
NBROWN. SC.
LYMAN SCHOOL, EAST BOSTON. Established 1837, Erected 1846, Cost $ 13,596.27. HOSEA H. LINCOLN, Master of Boys' School. ISAAC F. SHEPARD, Master of Girls' School.
This school was first gathered with forty pupils, kept in a chapel, and was named for the Hon. Theodore Lyman, fifth Mayor of the city in 1834- 35. A handsome Library was presented to the school by this gentle- man, in 1817. The original house was built in 1837, and was destroyed by fire in January, 1846. The present building was erected the same year, upon the same site, on the plan of the Briminer, and will seat 366 pupils in the main rooms. Four rooms on the lowest floor are also occupied, each seating 52 pupils, and three rooms in an adjoining building. Albert Bowker, previously usher in the Eliot School, was the only Master, from the time of its establishment, till his resignation, in December, 1815. In March, 1816, Mr. Lincoln, then usher in the Brimmer School, was elected his successor. The school was then reorganized ; from a mixed school, it was changed to separate schools for each sex. Mr. Lincoln took charge of the boys' school, and Mr. Ordway, usher in the school, took charge of the girls' school. He was subsequently elected Master. The schools be- gan to be in a very crowded state in 1847, and in 1843 incipient steps were taken to accommodate the surplus scholars, which finally resulted in the formation of the Chapman School.
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PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
ENDICOTT SCHOOL, COOPER STREET.
Established 1839, Erected 1810, Cost $ 22,337.07. J. W. JENKS, Master of Girls' School. JOHN F. NOURSE, Master of Boys' School.
This school, for both sexes, was first gathered in April, 1839, and until the building was completed, occupied the Pitts Street Chapel, and the Ward Room in the old Hancock School House. George Allen, Jr , then usher in the Mayhew School, and previously in the Adams, was elected Grammar Master, and Loring Lothrop, usher in the Eliot School, Writing Master. It took its name from the second Governor of the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, John Endicott, and has been a school of marked pros- perity. The Rev. Sebastian Streeter was Chairman of the Committee of the School for several years, and to his deep interest in its welfare is to be referred much of its usefulness. The house is large and well ventilated, and its location is very good. The city, in 1543. purchased a lot of land on which to erect an addition, for the better accommodation of the schools, and in 1850, a complete remodelling of the building was effected. In September, 1847, Mr. Allen was transferred to the Hancock School. and the organization was changed. Two distinct schools were formed, Mr. Lothrop being made Master of the Girls' School. and Mr. Nonrsa, then of Beverly Academy, was chosen Master of the Boys'. Mr. Lothrop was transferred to the Chapman School, when it was organized in 1850.
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MATHER SCHOOL.
MATHER SCHOOL, BROADWAY, SOUTH BOSTON. Established 1812, Erected 1812, Cost $ 21,314.80.
J. A. STEARNS, Gram. Muster ; J. BATTLES, JR., Writing Master.
The Mather School was first gathered in 1940, under Mr. Battles and female assistants, as a branch of the Hawes, and occupied Franklin Hall until their fine house was built. The school was named in 1842, in mnem- ory of the celebrated Mather family, and was removed to the edifice erect- ed for it in March of the same year. An exhibition of the pupils in dec- lamation, and other exercises, occurred on the occasion. Alvan Simonds, Esq., now of the Common Council, was then, and for several years after, Chairman of the school, and to his energetic and faithful labors does the school owe much of its superior privileges and character. It continued under the charge of Mr. Battles, previously in the Hawes School, and I. F. Shepard, previously in the Endicott, ushers, till August, 1813, when it was fully organized, and Josiah A. Stearns, usher in the Adams School, was elected Grammar Master, and Mr. B. Writing Master. A Library of 1,000 volumes is connected with the school, for which it is chiefly in- debted to the liberality of Amos Lawrence, Esq., who made a similar gift to the Johnson School. A nucleus for it existed, however, from the ori- gin of the school, as a part of the results of a "moral association," origi- nated, it is believed, by Mr. Harrington, while at the Hawes School. A similar association exists in the Mather, called the Lawrence Association.
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PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
₦ BROWN SO
BRIMMER SCHOOL, COMMON STREET. Established 1843, Erected 1843, Cost $ 22,151.21.
J. BATES, JR., Grammar Master ; J. H. BUTLER, Writing Master. The Brimmer School for boys was established in 1843, to accommodate the surplus in the Adams, the Winthrop, and the Franklin Schools. The Franklin had previously been a mixed School, but on the establishment of the Brimmer, it became a girls' school, and its male pupils were all trans- ferred to this last; thus it commenced with full numbers and advanced pupils. The house was first occupied in December. Dedication services were held on the occasion, and addresses were made by several distin- guished gentlemen. Mr. Bates, the Grammar Master, was elected from the Winthrop School, Charlestown, of which he had been Principal sev. eral years. Mr. Shepard was previously usher in the English High School. The school was named in compliment to the late Hon. Martin Brimmer, the ninth Mayor of the city, in 1843-44, and a liberal friend to public schools. This house is well situated on the site of the old Franklin School, and built on the same model with the Otis. The school has had a very high rank, from the time of its establishment. It has a library of about two hundred volumes, and they are used with much benefit. The whole number of pupils last returned was 311; average attendance 301. The first medals were awarded in 1815, to G F. Stoddard, C. H. Hovey, F. A. Tuttle, I. J. Harwood, H. W. Barrey, and F. Sinith.
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PHILLIPS SCHOOL.
SC
PHILLIPS SCHOOL, PINCKNEY STREET.
Established 1844, Erected 1823 -25, Cost $ 24,484.03. J. HOVEY, Grammar Master ; BENJ. DREW, Writing Master.
This house was first erected for the use of a Grammar School, and named the " Bowdoin School." Previous to its occupancy, the name was transferred to the old Derne Street School, and the building was devoted solely to the purposes of the English High School; but upon the removal of this last to the new house in Bedford street, the building, at a cost of $ 2,945.59, was refitted for a Grammar School, required hy the growing population of the West End, and named in honor of the Hon. John Phil- lips, the first Mayor of Boston, in 1822. Samuel S. Greene was the first Grammar Master, and at his resignation in 1819, was succeeded by the present incumbent. Mr. Swan has been connected with the School from the Commencement. The School assembled in November, 1814, and on the first of the next February, the building was materially damaged by a fire, which took from the hot air flues of the furnace. The repairs cost $ 1,005, and some alterations were recommended by the last annual examining committee, " which would greatly benefit both the masters and the pu- pils." The school is for boys only, of whom 336 were reported in the last semi-annual returns, with an average attendance of 321. The location of the district from which the school is gathered, is one of the most favorable in the city, as its pupils generally come from the first class families. While this fact is beneficial in many respects, it almost necessarily keeps the school " young," as its pupil, are carly transferred to higher schools.
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PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
OTIS SCHOOL, LANCASTER STREET.
Established 1811, Erected 1844, Cost $ 25,791.78.
I. F. SHEPARD, Grammar Master ; B. DREW, JR., Writing Master.
This School.House when erected was considered the best in the city, al- though it is now quite behind the models. It contains two large halls, with two recitation rooms attached to each, and will seat, in the large rooms, 461 pupils. The school was first gathered as the New North School, In 1813, and until the present building was erected, occupied the ward rooms in the old Hancock and the Eliot school-houses. Samuel S. Greene. usher of the English High School, was chosen Grammar Master, who was transferred to the Phillips School, at its organization, and Mr. Shepard, then usher in the Adams School, was elected his successor. Mr. Drew had been usher in the Mayhew School. The school took possession of the new house Feb. 6, 1915, and dedicatory services were held on the fifth day of March, at which Mayor Davis presided. Appropriate addresses were made by the venerable Harrison Gray Otis, for whom the school was named, His Excellency Gov. Briggs, Dr. Ezra Paliner, Jr., and others. A fine Library was presented to the pupils by Win. S. Damnrell, and remains a noble memento of his benevolence. The house is badly located, and a special committee have reported in favor of a new building on the site of the old jail in Leverett Street.
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DWIGHT SCHOOL.
HD. SC.
DWIGHT SCHOOL, CONCORD STREET.
Established 1844, Erected 1815, Cost $ 30,000.
G. B. HYDE, Master G. School ; J. A. PAGE. Master B. School. The School-House contains two large halls, with two recitation rooms attached to each, and will seat 523 pupils. The school was first gathered as the New South School, in 1814, and until the present building was erected, occupied the basement of the Suffolk Street Chapel. Mr. Hyde was the sole master of the school until 1850, when it was made into two distinct schools, like the Endicott, Mr. H. retaining the girls, and Mr. Page, then Sub-Master, was elected Principal of the boys' school. A | small Library of reference books was presented to the school by Hon. Ed mund Dwight, the distinguished gentleman whose name it bears. Upon this subject of Libraries, we give the language of a Committee appointed in 1847. " In most parts of this State, school hbraries are established, and our noble Commonwealth. in its wise munificence and forecast, opens its treasury to encourage them. Our Board does nothing. We establish no library for master or pupil. We leave both to private liberality and private charity. We claim not our rights of the State. We profess to be friends of the teacher, and yet leave him without a school library, and to sue in vain at the Public Library. Guardians of the purity of the chil. dren, and knowing the safeguard there is in a collection of well-selected books, we leave the moral and intellectual welfare of our charge to the proverbial delicacy and taste of the circulating library."
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PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
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QUINCY SCHOOL, TYLER STREET. Established 1347, Erected 1847, Cost $ 60,210.18.
J. D. PHILBRICK, Master ; C. E. VALENTINE, Sub . Master.
This school-house contains most of the modern improvements, for many of which it is indebted to the indefatigable exertions of James H. Barnes, Esq., a member of the School Board, and Chairman of the Com. mittee on the " Erection and Alteration of School Houses." It is four stories high, and contains twelve school rooms, each of which acconto- dates 56 scholars, and a hall furnished with settees, which will seat 700 pupils. It has also six small recitation rooms. Its greatest improvements consist in having a separate room for each teacher, and a separate desk for each scholar. It was dedicated on the 26th of June, 1513. Addresses were made by Mayor Quincy, who presided, Dr. T. M. Brewer, Chairman of the Sub-Committee, the venerable Ex-President Quincy, second Mayor of the city, from 1823-23, for whom it was named, Rev. Mr. Waterston and the Principal, who announced the fact that the liberal donation of $ 200 had been made to the school for the purpose of procuring a Library for the pupils. For some remarks upon the library facilities of the schools, the reader is referred to the notice of the Dwight School. Previ- ously to his transfer to this school, Mr. Philbrick had been one year usher in the English High School, and two years Writing Master of the Mayhew School Mr. Valentine had been usher in the Winthrop School.
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PRIMARY SCHOOL.
PRIMARY SCHOOLS. Established 1818, Expenses $ 5,000.
The Primary Schools were originally but twelve in number, and with few conveniences provided by the city. For several years the teachers hired their own rooms, furnished them, and of course were subjected to many and great evils. Even the $ 5,000 that these schools cost was loud- ly talked of as a great expense, and it was not until 1833 that the city owned rooms where the schools were located. Now 113 schools are kept in city buildings ; some of them in the basements of Grammar School- Houses, and some in houses erected expressly for them. Three of these were built in 1847, and a view of one in Tremont street is given above. Another follows on the next page, and they have been erected with special regard to the comfort and convenience of teachers and pupils, while atten- tion has been paid to neatness and architectural accuracy. The prosperity of the Primary Schools is the surest indication of the deep interest taken by the people in popular education. In 1820 there were only 1,331 pupils in them. while now there are 11,739. The scholars have increased at the rate of 230 per cent., while the population has increased'only 130 per cent.
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PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
INGRAHAM SCHOOL, SHEAFE STREET. For 3 Schools, Erected 1848, Cost $ 12,425.70.
This house was dedicated Monday, March 27, 1848. Joseph W. Ingra- ham, Esq., under whose direction the plans for the building were pre- pared, presided, made an address, and was followed by Hon. Horace Mann, and others. Mr. Billings was the architect, and Dr. H. G. Clark, and F. Emerson, Esq., arranged its ventilating apparatus, which is very superior. The house is 53 feet in length, 25 in width, containing three principal apartments for the schools, with recitation rooms, closets, and other mi- nor apartments. It is fitted up with all the modern improvements and appliances.
Mr. Ingraham died on the 25th of August, in the 48th year of his age, much lamented. He was most zealously interested in the cause of educa. tion, an early, and the senior member of the Primary School Board, and was recently appointed a member of the Board of Education. He was an estimable man, with the noblest and purest impulses, guided by a profound sense of the great truths of Christianity. His funeral took place at Christ Church, in Salem street. The house was crowded with the friends of the deceased, among whom were the members of the School Committees, the Primary School Teachers, officers of the city, distinguished friends of Education, and a large number of children. In honor of his memory this school house was named by the Board, the " Ingraham Primary School."
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PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
THE foregoing sketches of the individual schools, -as full as the space allotted would allow, -it is believed are quite accurate, and but little of note is to be added We have said that the establishment of a public school is to be traced as far back as 1635, only five years after Winthrop "sat down in a goodlie place." It was then that Philemon Permont be came " schole master," and he probably followed that vocation until 1639, when he " was dismissed to join Mr. Wheelwright and others at Piscata- que." His school was free, although supported by subscription. according as each man felt disposed to give. Daniel Maude was chosen to the same office in 1636. and probably kept a distinct school, as Winthrop tells us in his Journal, nine years subsequent, that " divers free schools " were creat- ed. Maude was a minister, and removed to Dover, N. H. The names of Woodbridge, Woodmansey, and Benjamin Thompson, -a very learned man and a poet, - occur soon after. Ezekiel Cheever came next, and is well regarded as the Father of American Pedagogues, since he was not on- ly famous for his labors in other settlements, but elevated the character of the Boston School, till it was regarded as the " principal school " in the land. With the law of 1617, before referred to, the Latin School had its ori- gin, and has been continued ever since. The first distinct Writing School was kept by John Cole, in 1684. In 1713 Captain Thomas Hutchinson built a school-house at his own expense, known as the North Latin School, and Recompeuce Wordsworth was the Master. A house on Love Lane, here. after referred to, was built by the same family in 1713, for a Writing School, and kept by Jeremiah Condy. A Writing School in Mason street was opened the year before, under Ainos Angier. These were the only schools previous to the Revolution, when they were all interrupted, and there was but one school during the siege of Boston, and that kept gratu- itously by Mr. Elias Dupee. In November of 1776, they were, however, all resumed, under the care of the Selectmen. The first provision for the support of these schools, we have already said, was by voluntary contribu tion. The oldest volume of town records shows a subscription list for this purpose, headed by Sir Henry Vane, - the Puritan Hero, - who gave £10, in company with Gov. Winthrop and Richard Bellingham. This method of raising money was not sufficiently permanent, and in 1641 the town voted to apply the rent money from " Dere Iland " to support schools. Other public income was soon after applied, and for two ceutu- ries our city has not been without schools supported from the public treas. ury. Doubtless they have acted upon each other with refiex influence ; furnishing a forcible commentary upon the sacred precept, -"There is that giveth and yet increaseth; there is that withholdeth more than is meet, and it tendeth to poverty."
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